Symposium 25.-26.05.2023

‘Migration Studies Meet Institutional Research: Theoretical Interfaces’

Institutions play a significant role in the formation, development, and monitoring of transborder mobility, just as there are implications of mobility for the existence and transformation of institutions. Nevertheless, current debates often independently pursue perspectives on different types of transborder mobilities on the one hand and institutions (frequently conceived as immobile or territorially and nation-state anchored) on the other. The two-day symposium of the DGF Research Unit 5183 ‘Transborder Mobility and Institutional Dynamics’ seeks to bring together these often-separated discourses, drawing on presentations by invited speakers and subproject members.

Invited Speakers: Prof Dr Antje Ellermann (University of British Columbia), Prof Dr Sebastian Koos (University of Konstanz), Prof Dr Patricia H. Thornton (Texas A&M University) and Prof Dr Anja Weiß (University of Duisburg-Essen)

Meeting 27.-28.10.2022

‘Migration Research meets Institutional Research: Theoretical Perspectives and Intersections’

The Research Unit 5183 came together on October 27th and 28th 2022 for a two-day meeting to discuss the following topic: ‘Migration Research meets Institutional Research’. Prof Dr Anja Weiß (University of Duisburg-Essen) gave a guest lecture on ‘Migration Research and Institutions’ and discussed some of the Research Unit’s key concern with its members. In addition, the Research Unit’s subprojects reported on their ongoing research and outlined in which ways they combine theoretical perspectives from mobility and migration research as well as institutional research.

June-July 2022

‘Mercator Fellow visits Siegen’

In June and July 2022, the research unit’s Mercator Fellow, Prof Dr Habibul H. Khondker who is based at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE, visited Siegen. As part of his fellowship, Prof Dr Khondker, whose research interests include social inequality, globalization, migration governance, sport, and new media, organized a two-day workshop on the topic of ‘Transborder Mobility and Institutional Dynamics in the Global South’ at the University of Siegen in mid-June. In addition, he discussed methodological challenges in the field with several Young Scholars (postdoctoral researchers, Ph.D., and graduate students) in an online workshop in early July as well as on other occasions and participated in a workshop at the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) at the University of Cologne, organized by Prof Dr Michaela Pelican and her research team (sub-project 3) in mid-July.

Workshop 04.05.2022

‘Institutional Dynamics and Mobility in Southern Africa’

At the end of April 2022 subproject 1 (‘Mobility and Institutions of Intermediary Rule in Southern Africa’) welcomed Prof Dr Rijk van Dijk (African Studies Centre, Leiden University) for a two-week guest stay at the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) in Cologne. As part of this stay, PD Dr Mario Krämer organised a hybrid workshop on ‘Institutional Dynamics and Mobility in Southern Africa’ with members of the Research Unit and colleagues from the Global South Studies Center on May 4th, 2022. Members of subproject 1 had the opportunity to present their research projects and to discuss with Prof Dr Rijk van Dijk his research on mobility and institutional dynamics in Botswana.

Program:

• Introduction of Research Unit ‘Transborder Mobility and Institutional Dynamics’ [transMID] (Mario Krämer)
• ‘Chieftaincy, neotraditional networking and (transborder) mobility in Southern Africa’ (Mario Krämer)
• ‘Chieftaincy and intra-institutional mobility in Zambia’ (Laura Pargen)
• ‘Institutional social mobility: the case of marriage in Botswana’ (Rijk van Dijk)
• General discussion

Workshop 17.-18.03.2022

‘Doing research with vulnerable persons: awareness-building and (self-)reflexivity’

The Research Unit’s first internal (online) workshop took place on March 17th and 18th 2022. Dr Dima Zito who holds a PhD in Human and Social Sciences and is a social worker led the event which focussed on ‘Doing research with vulnerable persons: awareness-building and (self-)reflexivity’ and its methodological and ethical applications.